Sad news for the Belgian football world. Gilbert Van Binst, better known as ‘Gille’, has died at the age of 73. He had been suffering from chronic illnesses for several years. As a former Red Devil and ex-player of RSC Anderlecht and Club Brugge, Van Binst left his mark on Belgian football.
Van Binst created a furore, especially in the 1970s. While employed by RSC Anderlecht, which had picked him up from Vilvoorde FC, he turned out to be one of the club’s legends. In his younger years he played as an attacker, but in the Astridpark Van Binst trained as a right back. Even in that capacity he often found his way to goal: 28 times in 262 games.
Bee purple-white Van Binst also built a sturdy trophy cabinet. He won the title in both 1972 and 1974, with four Belgian cups on top of that in the 1970s. However, Anderlecht recorded the greatest triumphs of that period in the European Cup II, where it won the final in 1976 and 1978. Van Binst played a key role in both finals: he was captain against West Ham United, and two years later he (just like Rob Rensenbrink) scored two goals against Austria Wien.
International
During that golden period, Van Binst also made it to the Red Devil fifteen times. He was an important force under Raymond Goethals, as evidenced by his selection for the European Championships in 1972. He got into a conflict with successor Guy Thys, which meant that the score of the born Machelaar would remain at fifteen. After a French adventure with Toulouse FC, Van Binst played for Club Brugge for two more years, although that was not a great success.
After his playing career, Van Binst was regularly in the news. He wrote articles about football, worked as an analyst or appeared in countless game programs. In recent years his health has deteriorated noticeably. Van Binst was affected by dementia and Parkinson’s disease. He died around the turn of the year at the age of 73.
Belgium
